'The Corner Shop'
‘The Corner Shop’ explores the role of ‘mom & pop’ establishments in creating community by developing a design that supports families that own such establishments. Upon conducting my site explorations, I argued that Mayfield currently lacked a sense of ‘eyes on the street’ that can only be achieved through establishing community. The corner shop in this context acts as a community space with informal surveillance and extended opening hours. Additionally, as Mayfield is experiencing a high-investment regeneration project, it poses the risk of polarizing the communities of adjacent Ardwick, an incredibly diverse area of Manchester. The corner shop intends to ease the establishment of a new community, one that can bridge between Mayfield and Ardwick, carrying on the legacy of the corner shop as a platform for social integration. In acknowledgment of the pressures the corner shop places on families in the current socio-economic climate, I propose a co-operative corner shop. In which corner shop is run by 2 families co-operatively instead of one.
A design for multigenerational living is proposed, one that is derived from my own lived experience. A study of the floor plans of my grandmother’s house revealed the structural growth that occurred in her home with my family’s growth, the reoccurring extensions and spatial reconfigurations proved to be taxing on the home, as the family dynamic was in constant flux. Thus, the ‘corner shop’ is designed with incremental growth and spatial reconfiguration in mind. These concepts are reflected in two aspects, structural choices and internal fittings.
The structure is made up of a re-enforced concrete ground floor and glulam upper floors. The use of concrete, as well as raising the floor 270 mm, is due to the flood risk on site from the river Medlock. However, the use of glulam and CLT on the upper floors not only provides a lower embodied carbon, but are also characterized by their fast construction times, which is necessary for the prospective second floor, as it minimizes disruption to residents already living on site. In addition, the balcony system is inspired to operate as scaffolding to aid in the future extension.
As for spatial reconfiguration, elements of co-living are incorporated into the structure using bi-folding walls, that can create either shared or private living spaces. The co-living elements create a sense of community and support within the structure itself. To adapt to family dynamics, the bi-folding walls can help create a contained living room and bedroom unit by joining 2 rooms if a sibling moves out, helping maintain privacy when living with parents later in life.
Site analysis identified that due to a recent pedestrianization of the street facing the site, the area is likely to become more populated as it is on route to the new Mayfield development. As such, the louvers on the upper floors create a sharp distinction between public and private space in the façade design, providing not only solar control, but privacy from onlookers.
